Whether you have recently been let go at your current company, or your children have gone back to school or someone you live with has moved away, you may have extra time on your hands that you're not sure what to do with. You may consider shopping, or dating, or spending hours on the Internet. Before you consider these not so healthy options, consider re-organizing some aspects of your life. You can fill in those time gaps with some great suggestions and books from these famous authors who can help you spare time and energy.

Change your interior spaces. According to Debbie Travis in Debbie Travis' Facelift , changing an interior space, involves creating or discovering the mood that you want the room to display first. For a relaxing bedroom, paint the walls in earth and sky colors such as browns, creams, light blues and greens. Rooms like offices, family rooms or dens, use reds, bright yellows and oranges. Then create a theme, like memories of family times, vacation spots or favorite hobbies.incorporate, the themes with decorative items you've purchased or been given. Include pillows, curtains, lamp shades, keeping the same colors throughout. However time and money permitting, Debbie states make a list for possible projects you may want to do for certain areas, which may involve purchasing special furnishings or hiring contractors.

Organizing your finances and your home. The word annotates tedious work. However according to Peter Walsh "organization goes to another level that includes living your life successfully". Peter suggests that everyone can be happier with less. To begin organizing, it's necessary to clear the physical clutter. You may need help in throwing or giving away items that you've kept in your attic and closets. In short, keep house notes, birth certificates, marriage, divorce or death certificates,, insurance polies, checking, savings and mutual funds annual statements, IRA account, social security information, current bills, medical records, annual income statements or W2s, property and personal tax statements. Throw away paid bills, monthly checking statements that you've settled with your checkbook, and closed accounts. For kitchens and bathrooms, get rid of expired items, give away items you haven't used,. For packed items, (except for family albums or photos), pick and choose between such as greeting cards, magazines, art projects, or personal collectible items. To keep down clutter, consider limiting your current and future purchases. Other tips include buying a shredder and keeping it near your mail, planning and scheduling every minute of the day, managing email accounts and time, and establishing priority lists.

Enjoying the peace of quiet. Elizabeth Gilbert will tell you that silence allows you to reflect, to get to know who you are, and help you discover the solutions to your problems. Elizabeth Gilbert wrote Eat, Pray, Love, a memoir where Elizabeth travels to three countries, Italy, India, and Indonesia and visits ashrams over a time span of a year. Elizabeth records her journey to self discovery include her daily rituals of meditation and yoga. From her experience, the meditations opened her eyes to herself, love, and God.

Getting in touch with yourself. In Self Matters, Dr. Phil McGraw, gives exercises on how to get in touch with your true personality, and motivations. He suggests that everyone has "defining moments", choices and pertinent people in your life that have contributed to how you live today. He calls it getting in touch with "your authentic self", as opposed to the perceptions that you have or others have of you. Self Matters will give you great insight on your personal life. Similarly, Marsha Sinetar in Doing What You Love and the Money Follows, suggests that self esteem starts early, and your perceptions of those around you help shape who you are as a person today. People are wasting time and energy, when they aren't enjoying their work. Marsha interviews several individuals who made career moves that weren't accepted by those around them, whether it was for finances or the career choice itself. However, they discovered fulfilling job and career choices will be maintained for a lifetime.

Learning to eat healthy. Exercising and diet are important in keeping healthy. However, additional benefits lie in preparing both your meals and snacks daily in your own kitchen. Just making meals naturally will help cut costs by getting your vitamins naturally as opposed in a bottle on a store shelf. Ellie Krieger, a nutritionist and author, prepares meals fit for the diabetic, the dieter, or ones at risk for heart disease. Comfort Food Fix is her cookbook where she outlines recipes for breakfast, snacks, soups, desserts and of course southern main and side dishes that we all love, where the servings of fat and sodium are cut substantially. Utilize appliances to help, such as the new yogurt and soda maker.e read to go out and volunteer, hand out with your fends more often, start a new job or a or other exercise programs, take up a new hobby, explore online or local dating options such as "it's Just Lunch, a matchmaker dating service, or take the vacation deserve.

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Gina Britt is a divorced mom with two teen-age sons. Originally from Central Virginia, she relocated to Indiana and moved back home about 5 years ago. She has a degree in psychology and enjoys research on any topic. Her other interests are health, special needs, shopping, reading and has a love for the arts.